Contact

kochu · Post by **kochu** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:30 pm

Is "Contact" going to be a reality?.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7041183.stm

Kochu/15-10-07
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Tachyon · Post by **Tachyon** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 6:32 pm

When I was young I used to watch every episode of 'Cosmos' and read all of Carl Sagan's book (including 'Contact') with earnest. I even briefly participated in donating my computer time to SETI@home.

However, now I think that this search for ET signals is getting out of hand, and the money can be better spent on other pursuits. My personal view is that the universe is too young to have other advanced civilizations to send their signals to us that can arrive in our lifetime. The sheer complexity of our biology makes us very, very unique.

The irony is that if I believe in evolution, then life outside of earth seemed very unlikely. However, if I believe in Creationism, then life outside of earth is more likely, as no where in the Bible did it say that God created life on Earth ONLY.

So, while I support efforts to continue to search for ET signals, we should limit the amount spent and channel it into other astronomy research, e.g. planetary exploration.

kingkong · Post by **kingkong** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:37 pm

Tachyon wrote: The irony is that if I believe in evolution, then life outside of earth seemed very unlikely. However, if I believe in Creationism, then life outside of earth is more likely, as no where in the Bible did it say that God created life on Earth ONLY.
So, while I support efforts to continue to search for ET signals, we should limit the amount spent and channel it into other astronomy research, e.g. planetary exploration.

hmmm... this is getting uncomfortably close to singastro's aversion from religious discussions....

on one hand, the existence of ET intelligence at the same time as our civilisation is mathematically unlikely. on the other hand, the existence of life in an extra terrestrial world is a certainly. it has nothing to do with what the bible, or any other book, says.

as for how best should money be spent, perhaps it is not unheard of that some people may suggest human spend less on religious activities and channel the money to the sciences instead.... but let not go there... ;-)

Post by **Airconvent** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:29 am

Slim as it may be, as tools become sophisticated and more sensitive, it may be possible to pick up an ancient alien signals without even realising it. Of course there is no way to reply due to distances involved but at least a foot print can left in the universe.
But yes, money can be better spent on more realistic projects such as another lander on titan or a Neptune/Uranus probe instead of a flyby...
I think too many missions are going to Mars and not enough to Venus too.
Anxiously waiting for New Horizons to arrive at the 9th planet (yes...PLANET!!)

Tachyon · Post by **Tachyon** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:51 am

kingkong wrote:
Tachyon wrote: The irony is that if I believe in evolution, then life outside of earth seemed very unlikely. However, if I believe in Creationism, then life outside of earth is more likely, as no where in the Bible did it say that God created life on Earth ONLY.
So, while I support efforts to continue to search for ET signals, we should limit the amount spent and channel it into other astronomy research, e.g. planetary exploration.
hmmm... this is getting uncomfortably close to singastro's aversion from religious discussions....

on one hand, the existence of ET intelligence at the same time as our civilisation is mathematically unlikely. on the other hand, the existence of life in an extra terrestrial world is a certainly. it has nothing to do with what the bible, or any other book, says.

as for how best should money be spent, perhaps it is not unheard of that some people may suggest human spend less on religious activities and channel the money to the sciences instead.... but let not go there... ;-)

No.. no religion. I'm just saying that the money should be spent on planetary exploration instead.

In that sense we are in agreement - SETI assumes that the ET life is intelligent, and are capable of sending information to us, but exploration assumes that life is possible in other worlds, and we need to explore these worlds to search out these life forms.

Maybe I watched too much Star trek...

Post by **Airconvent** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:02 am

Tachyon wrote:Maybe I watched too much Star trek...

Hello! There's no such thing as watching too much Star Trek...the universe is so large its never enough!

Consider this, even in Star Trek World at warp 8, it takes 60 years to travel 1/4 of our galaxy.....unless you happen to be a Borg or possess Slipstream technology!